Formlabs, a prominent player in the 3D printing industry, has unveiled its latest innovation, the Form 4 and Form 4B 3D printers. This marks a significant leap in the realm of professional resin-based 3D printing, incorporating a new Low Force Display™ (LFD) print engine, which is poised to redefine industry standards by offering significantly faster printing speeds.

With its headquarters in Somerville, Massachusetts, and a global footprint, Formlabs has long been at the forefront of 3D printing technology. The company’s release of the Form 4 series in Mumbai, India, continues its legacy of pushing the boundaries in 3D printing capabilities. The new printers promise up to five times the speed of their predecessor, the Form 3+, potentially transforming the workflow for professionals across various industries.

The Form 4 features a unique masked stereolithography (mSLA) technology that considerably cuts down printing times, allowing users to produce most parts in under two hours. This could be a significant game-changer for engineers, designers, and manufacturers who are looking to speed up the prototyping phase and reduce time to market for new products.

The printer is equipped with a high-power backlight, a proprietary release texture, Light Processing Unit 4 (LPU 4), and a dual-layer resin tank, all integral components of the LFD™ print engine. This engine not only accelerates the printing process but also enhances print quality with features like 50-micron pixels, highly collimated light, advanced pixel smoothing, and light touch supports. Such features ensure not only speed but also precision and reliability, which are crucial in a professional setting.

Moreover, the Form 4 boasts intuitive operation features, designed to make 3D printing more accessible to beginners and more efficient for seasoned users. Automatic resin handling, quick-release build platforms, and instant material changes are just a few of the user-friendly features that enhance its usability.

In terms of cost efficiency, Formlabs states that the Form 4 operates at a 40% lower cost per part compared to its predecessors. This cost-effectiveness is achieved through longer-lasting resin tanks, lowered resin prices, increased print volumes, and higher throughput.

Expanding its already robust library of materials, Formlabs has introduced six new resins tailored to meet specific industry needs. These include reformulated General Purpose Resins and specialized resins like Fast Model and Precision Model, catering particularly to the dental industry. The Form 4 is validated for use with 17+ other materials from its extensive library, along with 15 additional biocompatible materials compatible with the Form 4B, a variant targeted primarily towards biocompatible applications.

This innovation could have far-reaching implications for various professional fields including medical, dental, and industrial design, by enabling quicker development and iteration of models with high accuracy and lower operational costs.

Formlabs continues to emphasize its commitment to facilitating the transition from ideation to physical realization in the professional realm, reshaping how industries think about and utilize 3D printing technology in their production and prototyping processes.